An NEI P30 Center Core Grant combines one or more research
cores for a group of R01 investigators to enhance their research, consolidate
resources, avoid duplication of efforts, and/or contribute to cost
effectiveness by providing a service with lower cost or higher quality than
could be attempted for independent projects by several individual PDs/PIs.
Shared resources and facilities that are accessible to a group of
independently funded investigators lead to greater productivity for the
separate projects, and can provide instrumentation and facilities that are
too costly to be maintained by an individual investigator. The design
and purpose of each P30 Center Core Grant may vary in how it serves its
users. This program is designed to enhance an institution's environment
and capability to conduct vision research and to facilitate collaborative
studies of the visual system and its disorders.

Key
Dates

Posted Date

July 9, 2013

Letter of Intent Due Date(s)

Not Applicable

Application Due Date(s)

September 30, 2013

AIDS Application Due Date(s)

Not Applicable

Scientific Merit Review

February/March 2014

Advisory Council Review

May 2014

Earliest Start Date

July 2014

Expiration Date

October 1, 2013

Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in
the PHS 398
Application Guide except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or
in a Notice from the NIH Guide
for Grants and Contracts). Conformance to all requirements (both in
the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. While
some links are provided, applicants must read and follow all application
instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific
instructions noted in Section IV. When
the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide,
follow the program-specific instructions. Applications that do not
comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Looking ahead: NIH is committed to transitioning all
grant programs to electronic submission using the SF424 Research and Related
(R&R) format and is currently investigating solutions that will accommodate
NIH’s multi-project programs. NIH will announce plans to transition the
remaining programs in the NIH
Guide to Grants and Contractsand on NIH’s Applying Electronically website.

An NEI P30 Center Core
Grant combines one or more research cores for a group ofR01 investigators to
enhance their research, consolidate resources, avoid duplication of efforts,
and/or contribute to cost effectiveness by providing a service with lower cost
or higher quality than could be attempted for independent projects by several
individual PDs/PIs. Shared resources and facilities that are accessible
to a group of independently funded investigators lead to greater productivity
for the separate projects, and can provide instrumentation and facilities that
are too costly to be maintained by an individual investigator. The design
and purpose of each P30 Center Core Grant may vary in how it serves its users.
This program is designed to enhance an institution's environment and
capability to conduct vision research and to facilitate collaborative studies
of the visual system and its disorders.

Scientific
Knowledge to be Achieved

An NEI P30 Center Core Grant will increase the productivity
and impact of research in eligible projects of the Core users, and will form a
collaborative environment to increase scientific interactions. A strong
research base of funded projects is a qualifying requirement and a major factor
in obtaining a P30 Center Core Grant award. Any institution or consortium
applying for a P30 Center Core Grant must have an active, established program
in basic, epidemiological, biomedical or behavioral research in one or more of
the NEI mission areas described at http://www.nei.nih.gov/funding/nprp.asp.

Types
of Approaches

NEI P30 Center Core Grants consist of discrete units or
cores, each devoted to a specific activity that would be impractical or less
efficient to support on an individual research project grant. The purpose
of each core is to support a resource or service that enhances or facilitates
the research efforts of a group of independent investigators, each having NEI
funding. Cores may involve the purchase and maintenance of a shared
instrument. Some sharing of Core Grant resources and services with other
NIH-funded collaborators and with investigators new to vision research is
encouraged.

The Administrative Core supports the overall management of the P30
Center Core Grant, including an organizational structure sufficient to
coordinate and integrate the activities of the Resource and Service Cores , and
determine the distribution and utilization of funds.

esource
cores facilitate the production of materials for research, or
support the purchase, maintenance, and technical support of shared equipment.
Examples may include, but are not limited to, confocal microscopy, electron
microscopy, tissue and cell culture services, genotyping, microarray
analysis, mass spectrometry, high throughput sequencing, database management,
hybridoma production, laboratory animal resources, image analysis, and brain
and eye imaging. Resource cores may also help support computer
experts, biostatisticians, and other individuals who can assist or collaborate
with participating investigators in conducting vision research.

Service cores support
essential laboratory or technical services provided by one or more highly
skilled persons. Examples of this type of core include, but are not
limited to, electronics shop, machine shop, and photography services.

Section II. Award Information

Funding Instrument

Grant: A support mechanism providing money, property, or
both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.

Application Types Allowed

New
Renewal
Resubmission

The OER
Glossary and the PHS 398 Application Guide provide details on these application
types.

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards

The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations
and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Award Budget

The NEI will provide direct costs of up to $2,000,000 over
a five-year period in support of a Core Grant to institutions having 8 to 19
eligible grants. Institutions having 20 or more eligible grants may
receive direct costs of up to $2,500,000 over a five-year period.

Award Project Period

The maximum project period is 5 years.

NIH grants policies as
described in the NIH Grants
Policy Statement will apply to the
applications submitted and awards made in response to this FOA.

Section III. Eligibility
Information

1. Eligible Applicants

Eligible Organizations

Higher Education Institutions

Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education

Private Institutions of Higher Education

The following types of Higher Education Institutions
are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private
Institutions of Higher Education:

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are
not eligible to apply.
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible
to apply.
Foreign components, as defined in
the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.

Required Registrations

Applicant organizations must complete the following registrations
as described in the PHS 398 Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or
receive an award. Applicants must have a valid Dun and Bradstreet Universal
Numbering System (DUNS) number in order to begin each of the following registrations.

System for
Award Management (SAM)– must maintain an active entity registration
(formerly CCR registration), to be renewed at least annually. Use the Sam.gov
“Manage Entity” function to manage your entity registrations. See the Grants
Registration User Guide at SAM.gov for additional information.

All Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s))
must also work with their institutional officials to register with the eRA
Commons or ensure their existing eRA Commons account is affiliated with the eRA
Commons account of the applicant organization.

All registrations must be completed by the application due
date. Applicant organizations are strongly encouraged to start the registration
process at least6 weeks prior to the application due date.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal
Investigator)

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources
necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal
Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with his/her organization to
develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial
and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always
encouraged to apply for NIH support.

The application must provide a table listing each eligible
grant in the Resources
section. The table should include the complete grant
number, title, and PD/PI. List only those grants described as
being eligible. No other mechanisms or source of research
support will be considered in determining eligibility. Do not include R01s in
no-cost extensions, administrative supplements, revisions, and sub-contracts.

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application,
provided that each application is scientifically distinct. However, only one
P30 Center Core Grant will be made to any single applicant organization.
For multicampus institutions, no more than one P30 Center Core Grant will be
made to each campus.

NIH will not accept any application that is essentially the
same as one already reviewed within the past thirty-seven months (as described
in the NIH
Grants Policy Statement), except for submission:

To an RFA of an application that was submitted previously as an
investigator-initiated application but not paid;

Of an investigator-initiated application that was originally
submitted to an RFA but not paid; or

Of an application with a changed grant activity code.

Institutions applying for a P30 Center Core Grant must hold
a minimum of eight funded R01 NEI grants on the receipt date. Grant
applications in administrative extensions, with or without additional funds,
are not eligible. Administrative supplements, revisions, and sub-contracts
cannot be counted towards eligibility. Eligibility will be confirmed by NEI
staff prior to the meeting of the Scientific Review Group (SRG). Applications
from ineligible institutions will be returned to the applicant.

For a specific core on a Center Core Grant to be funded,
the core must be used to a "moderate" or "extensive"
degree by at least threeinvestigators from institutions with 19 or fewer eligible grants and fiveinvestigators from
insitutions with 20 or more eligible grants, each holding one R01 NEI grant.

All investigators listed in the
eligibility table must use at least one of the cores to a moderate extent to be
considered for eligibilty.

Section IV. Application and
Submission Information

1. Address to Request
Application Package

Applicants are required to prepare applications according to
the current PHS 398 application forms in accordance with the PHS 398
Application Guide.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in
the PHS 398
Application Guide, except where instructed in this funding opportunity
announcement to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the
Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out
of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Application Submission

Applications must be prepared using the PHS 398 research
grant application forms and instructions for preparing a research grant
application. Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application,
including the checklist, and three signed photocopies in one package to:

All page limitations described in the PHS 398 Application
Guide and the Table of
Page Limits must be followed, in addition to the following page limitations
to the Research Strategy section of each component of the application.

Overvall : 6 pages

Administrative Core: 6 pages

Cores: 6 pages per core

Instructions for the Submission of Multi-Component
Applications

The following section supplements the instructions found in
the PHS398 Application Guide, and should be used for preparing a
multi-component application.

The application should consist of the following components:

Overall: required

Administrative Core: required

Resource/Service Cores: minimum of 3

Overall Component

All instructions in the PHS398 Application Guide must be
followed, with the following additional instructions, as noted.

Face Page (Overall)

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide
must be followed, with the following additional instructions: Submit only one
Face Page for the entire application. In item 2, enter "P30 – CENTER CORE
GRANT FOR VISION RESEARCH."

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide
must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Key
Personnel: The Director of the administrative core should be named as the PD/PI
of the PD/PI of the overall Core Grant. Key personnel are
defined as the Program Director/Principal Investigator and the Core Leads. Program
Directors/Principal Investigators holding a qualifying R01 listed on the table
of eligible grants in the Resources section may be named as significant
contributors but should not be named as key personnel.

Table of Contents (Overall)

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed.

Detailed Budget for Initial Budget
Period (Overall)

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide
must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Provide summary budget pages for the initial and entire
budget periods for the Core Grant, presenting the aggregate budget for all
administrative and core components. Budget justification requests for
the administrative core and resource/service cores should be contained in the
separate core budgets that will immediately follow.

Budget for Entire Proposed Period of
Support (Overall)

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide
must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Provide summary budget pages for the entire budget
period for the Core Grant, presenting the aggregate budget for all
administrative core and core activities.

Biographical Sketch (Overall)

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide
must be followedwith the following additional instructions:

The Core Center Director and all Core Director's should
be named as key personnel and require biosketches. Significant Contributors, investigators
holding a qualifying R01 listed on the table of eligible grants in the
Resources section, do not require biosketches.

Resources (Overall)

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide
must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Provide a table listing each eligible grant.
Include the complete grant number, title, and PD/PI. List ONLY those grants
described above under eligibility. A section for overall Institutional or
Departmental resources should not be provided.

Research Plan (Overall)

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide
must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Research
Strategy: Describe the overall P30 Center Core structure in a
separate and internally complete six-page section. Include the
following: Background, Administrative Core, and Institutional
Commitment.

Background: Describe how the Center Core Grant
would be used to enhance the capabilities of participating NEI-funded
investigators and the institution for conducting vision research. If
pertinent, describe how Center Core Grant resources and services would be used
to help initiate or to continue collaborative studies, and/or to help attract
scientists to research on the visual system.

Institutional Commitment: Describe and give
examples of institutional commitment and support of the goal of fostering
vision research.

Resource
Sharing Plan:Individuals are required to comply with the
instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans (Data Sharing Plan, Sharing Model
Organisms, and Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS)) as provided in the PHS 398
Application Guide, with the following modification:

Generally, Resource Sharing Plans (Data Sharing Plan,
Sharing Model Organisms, and GWAS Sharing Plan) are expected, but they are not
applicable for this FOA.

Cores

All instructions in the PHS398 Application Guide must
be followed, with the following additional instructions, as noted.

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide
must be followed with the following additional instructions:

Key personnel are defined as the Program Director/Principal
Investigator and the Core Leads.

Program Directors/Principal Investigators holding a
qualifying R01 listed on the table of eligible grants in the Resources section
may be named as significant contributors but should not be named as key
personnel.

The PD/PI of the overall Core Grant should be also
named as the Director of the Administrative Core. This individual need not
hold a qualifying R01. Research/Service cores should be directed by an
NEI-funded, independent investigator holding a R01 grant who has the expertise
to supervise its use. Other arrangements may be proposed, but must be
well justified.

Table of Contents (Cores)

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide
must be followed

Detailed Budget for Initial Budget
Period (Cores)

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide
must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Administrative Core:

Program
Director/Principal Investigator: salary support may not exceed
0.6 person months.

Secretarial
and Administrative staff: support may be requested to the
extent that it relates directly to the management of Center Core Grant
activities. Costs for all secretarial and administrative activities
(including support for the Program Director/Principal Investigator) ordinarily
may not exceed 15% of the total direct costs of a Core Grant award in any year.

Resource/Service Cores

Core
Directors: Salary support may not exceed 0.4 person
months.

Technical
SupportPersonnel:
Salary may be requested.Equipment:
Requests for shared equipment are allowed.Supplies:
Consumable supplies may be requested if they are directly related to the
operation of the cores (photographic supplies, electronics parts, machine shop
stock, tissue culture media, etc.).Travel:
Not allowed.Patient Care Costs:
Not allowed.Other Expenses:
Equipment maintenance, computer time, and lease of computer lines are examples
of the many types of allowable costs. Human subjects reimbursement,
animal care per diem charges (boarding), and costs associated with seminars,
conferences, workshops, etc. are not allowed.

Budget for Entire Proposed Period of
Support (Core)

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide
must be followed.

Biographical Sketch (Core)

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide
must be followed.

Resources (Core )

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide
must be followed with the following additional instructions:

Outline the facilities, equipment, etc. that would be
available for the core in terms of space, location, capabilities, and
availability for participating investigators, using the format provided (Form
Page 8-HH). Include the most important equipment items that would be made
available. If a major equipment item (e.g., an electron microscope) is
located in the individual research space of an investigator, the issue of
accessibility for participating investigators should be addressed in detail.

Each proposed technique or service in the Center Core
Grant and its current status of staffing, space, and equipment should be
described in enough detail to allow a comprehensive evaluation.

Research Plan (Cores )

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide
must be followed.with the following additional instructions:

Research
Strategy: Describe the Research Strategy for each Core
proposed including the administrative Core.

For the Administrative Core, describe the
integration, coordination, and evaluation of activities of the cores, including
the establishment of priorities, allocation of resources, and scheduling for
use of a core among the participating investigators.

For the Resource/Service Cores, describe how Center
Core Grant facilities or services will enhance the research activities and
accomplishments of the projects using this core. Include how the Core will
provide increased or innovative capabilities, facilitate increased productivity
or effectiveness through sharing expertise or centralizing labor-intensive
tasks, foster collaborative or new research directions, bridge basic and
clinical research, or attract new investigators into vision research. Methodologies
already in use at the institution may be described briefly. Methodologies
new to the institution need to be described in detail and strategies delineated
for successful implementation in the research strategy section.

Resource/Service Core Use and Impact: Describe
how the core will enhance the research capabilities of investigators using the
core, citing some specific examples. Characterize the extent to which the
core will be used by each investigator, employing the terms
"limited," "moderate," or "extensive". This
information should be summarized in a table labeled Core Usage.

Renewal applications must include information that
demonstrates how the core has enhanced the capability of investigators and the
institution for conducting vision research. Examples of projects or
representative publications that benefited from use of the core should be
cited, particularly for investigators using the core to a "moderate"
or "extensive" degree. Do not submit copies of any manuscripts
or publications. Renewal applications should also describe collaborative
studies, attraction of investigators to vision research, and any other
research-related activities made possible or facilitated by the core . It
is not necessary or required to provide an exhaustive, all-inclusive accounting
of core usage in the research strategy section.

Resource
Sharing Plan: Individuals are required to comply with the
instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans (Data Sharing Plan, Sharing Model
Organisms, and Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS)) as provided in the PHS
398 Application Guide, with the following modification:

Generally, Resource Sharing Plans (Data Sharing Plan,
Sharing Model Organisms, and GWAS Sharing Plan) are expected, but they are not
applicable for this FOA.

Appendix for the Entire Application

Do not use the Appendix to circumvent page limits. Follow
all instructions for the Appendix (please note all format requirements) as
described in the PHS 398 Application Guide.

Applications must be received on or before the due dates in Part I. Overview Information. If an
application is received after that date, it will not be reviewed.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for
completeness by the Center for Scientific Review Applications that are
incomplete will not be reviewed.

Post-Submission Materials

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for
post-submission materials, as described in NOT-OD-10-115.

Section V. Application Review Information

1.
Criteria

Only the review criteria described below will be considered
in the review process. As part of the NIH mission,
all applications submitted to the NIH in support of biomedical and behavioral
research are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer
review system.

For this FOA, please note the following:

Emphasis will be placed on assessing the quality and
productivity of the research conducted by the primary users of the core, the
benefits that would be derived from the core, the quality of the products, and
the efficiency of services provided by the core.

Overall Impact - Overall

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect
their assessment of the likelihood for the P30 Center Core to exert a
sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved, in consideration
of the following review criteria and additional review criteria (as applicable
for the P30 Center Core proposed).

Scored Review Criteria - Overall

Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria
below in the determination of scientific merit, and give a separate score for
each.

An application does not need to be strong in all
categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact. For example, a P30
Center Core that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a
field.

Significance

Does the project address an important problem or a
critical barrier to progress in the field? If the aims of the P30 Center Core
are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or
clinical practice be improved? How will successful completion of the aims
change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or
preventative interventions that drive this field? Does the P30 Center Core
Grant provide resources and/or services to meet the scientific needs of the
research base? Will the P30 Center Core Grant be used by multiple
investigators? What is the likelihood that the Center Core Grant will
increase efficiency, accelerate progress and promote new research directions
and scientific collaborations among P30 Center Core Grant investigators?

Investigator(s)

Are the PD(s)/PI(s), collaborators, and other
researchers well suited to the P30 Center Core? If Early Stage Investigators or
New Investigators, or in the early stages of independent careers, do they have
appropriate experience and training? If established, have they demonstrated an
ongoing record of accomplishments that have advanced their field(s)? If the
project is collaborative or multi-PD/PI, do the investigators have complementary
and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance and
organizational structure appropriate for the project? Is the Program Director/Principal
Investigator qualified and in a position to administer this P30 Center Core
Grant effectively? How strong is the research track record of the
participating investigators? Is the level of independent,
peer-reviewed research support from the NEI/NIH appropriate for the number of
participating investigators? Is it likely that the participating
investigators, as a group, will remain productive and competitive? Are
procedures proposed or in place to ensure smooth administration of the Center
Core Grant overall, and of the individual Research and Service cores? If
an advisory group is proposed, does ithave an appropriate composition and
defined responsibilities? If an advisory group is not proposed, are there
alternative procedures to administer the P30 Center Core Grant
effectively? How will priorities be set? How will issues
regarding accessibility to P30 Center Core Grant facilities be handled?

Innovation

Does the application challenge and seek to shift
current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical
concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions? Are
the concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions
novel to one field of research or novel in a broad sense? Is a refinement,
improvement, or new application of theoretical concepts, approaches or
methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions proposed? Does the P30 Center
Core Grant use innovative ways to communicate or integrate activity among the
resource and service cores, or across basic and clinical research? Are
there innovative methods for allocating resources or promoting new
cross-departmental or multi-disciplinary collaborations?

Approach

Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses
well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the P30 Center
Core? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for
success presented? If the project is in the early stages of development, will
the strategy establish feasibility and will particularly risky aspects be
managed?

If the P30 Center Core involves clinical research, are the plans for 1)
protection of human subjects from research risks, and 2) inclusion of
minorities and members of both sexes/genders, as well as the inclusion of
children, justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy
proposed? Are there plans to establish and maintain communication and
cooperation among investigators? Are there adequate administrative
management plans for the research and service core, including implementation,
allocation, user prioritization, quality control, and utilization of
services? How well do the management plans address accountability, flow
of authority, dispute resolution, evaluation, and integration with the
institution’s fiscal and academic administration?

Will the core be directed by an NEI-funded,
independent investigator with the appropriate scientific
credentials? If other arrangements are proposed, are these
appropriate?

How will the coreenhance or facilitate the research
efforts of the participating investigators? Will the core support a
resource or service that would be impractical or less efficient to support on
an individual research grant? What will be the overall level of use for
the core and is this level appropriate? Are the resources
appropriate? Are Core Grant facilities easily accessible to members
of the group? If not, will this be an impediment to full utilization of
the core? Is each requested core budget item directly related to
the operation of thecore and adequately justified?

Environment

Will the scientific environment in which the work
will be done contribute to the probability of success? Are the institutional
support, equipment and other physical resources available to the investigators
adequate for the project proposed? Will the project benefit from unique features
of the scientific environment, subject populations, or collaborative
arrangements? What is the extent of the commitment and support by the
Institution to the goal of fostering research on the visual system and its
disorders? Are examples provided of significant space commitments,
faculty positions, payment or partial payment of salaries for support staff,
purchases of equipment, or financial support of new construction or renovation?

Additional Review Criteria Overall

As applicable for the P30 Center Core proposed, reviewers
will evaluate the following additional items while determining scientific and
technical merit, and in providing an overall impact score, but will not give
separate scores for these items.

Protections for Human Subjects

For research that involves human subjects but does
not involve one of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR
Part 46, the committee will evaluate the justification for involvement of human
subjects and the proposed protections from research risk relating to their
participation according to the following five review criteria: 1) risk to
subjects, 2) adequacy of protection against risks, 3) potential benefits to the
subjects and others, 4) importance of the knowledge to be gained, and 5) data
and safety monitoring for clinical trials.

For research that involves human subjects and meets the criteria for one or
more of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46,
the committee will evaluate: 1) the justification for the exemption, 2) human
subjects involvement and characteristics, and 3) sources of materials. For
additional information on review of the Human Subjects section, please refer to
the Human
Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.

Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and
Children

When the proposed project involves clinical research,
the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for inclusion of minorities and
members of both genders, as well as the inclusion of children. For additional
information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Human
Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.

Vertebrate Animals

The committee will evaluate the involvement of live
vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the
following five points: 1) proposed use of the animals, and species, strains,
ages, sex, and numbers to be used; 2) justifications for the use of animals and
for the appropriateness of the species and numbers proposed; 3) adequacy of
veterinary care; 4) procedures for limiting discomfort, distress, pain and
injury to that which is unavoidable in the conduct of scientifically sound
research including the use of analgesic, anesthetic, and tranquilizing drugs
and/or comfortable restraining devices; and 5) methods of euthanasia and reason
for selection if not consistent with the AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia. For
additional information on review of the Vertebrate Animals section, please
refer to the Worksheet
for Review of the Vertebrate Animal Section.

Biohazards

Reviewers will assess whether materials or procedures
proposed are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the
environment, and if needed, determine whether adequate protection is proposed.

Resubmissions

For Resubmissions, the committee will evaluate the
application as now presented, taking into consideration the responses to
comments from the previous scientific review group and changes made to the P30
Center Core.

Renewals

For Renewals, the committee will consider the
progress made in the last funding period.

The primary criterion is the effectiveness of the
previous P30 Center Core Grant and Research and Servicecores in enhancing the
capabilities of participating investigators and the institution for conducting
vision research. What has been the quality of publications by participating
investigators and the impact of these publications on the field? To what
extent did these research activities benefit directly from the services and
resources provided by the P30 Center Core Grant? To what extent did the
P30 Core Center Grant facilitate collaborative studies or help attract
investigators to vision research? What was the quality of the products
and services provided by the core? Were the facilities and resources
provided by the P30 Center Core Grant shared effectively and efficiently?
Was there a high level of use and sharing of any equipment provided in the
previous funding period?

Revisions

Not Applicable

Additional Review Considerations - Overall

As applicable for the P30 Center Core proposed, reviewers
will consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these
items, and should not consider them in providing an overall impact score.

Applications from Foreign
Organizations

Not Applicable

Select Agent Research

Reviewers will assess the information provided in
this section of the application, including 1) the Select Agent(s) to be used in
the proposed research, 2) the registration status of all entities where Select
Agent(s) will be used, 3) the procedures that will be used to monitor
possession use and transfer of Select Agent(s), and 4) plans for appropriate
biosafety, biocontainment, and security of the Select Agent(s).

Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the
requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to
the proposed research.

2. Review and Selection
Process

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical
merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s)convened by the NEI, in
accordance with NIH peer
review policy and procedures, using the stated review
criteria. Assignment to a Scientific Review Group will be shown in the eRA
Commons.

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications will receive a written
critique.

Applications will be assigned to the appropriate NIH
Institute or Center and will compete for available funds with all other
recommended applications. Following initial peer review, recommended applications
will receive a second level of review by the National Advisory Eye Council. The
following will be considered in making funding decisions:

Scientific and technical merit of the proposed project as
determined by scientific peer review.

Availability of funds.

Relevance of the proposed project to program priorities.

3. Anticipated Announcement
and Award Dates

After the peer review of the application is completed, the
PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique)
via the eRA
Commons.

If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH
will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as
described in the NIH Grants
Policy Statement.

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided
to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA signed by
the grants management officer is the authorizing document and will be sent via
email to the grantee’s business official.

Awardees must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.5. Funding Restrictions. Selection
of an application for award is not an authorization to begin performance. Any
costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the recipient's risk. These
costs may be reimbursed only to the extent considered allowable pre-award costs.

When multiple years are involved, awardees will be required
to submit the Non-Competing Continuation Grant Progress Report (PHS 2590 or RPPR)
annually and financial statements as required in the NIH
Grants Policy Statement.

A final progress report, invention statement, and the
expenditure data portion of the Federal Financial Report are required for
closeout of an award, as described in the NIH Grants
Policy Statement.

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of
2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for awardees of Federal grants to
report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under
Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All awardees of
applicable NIH grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to
the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.fsrs.gov on all subawards over $25,000. See the NIH Grants
Policy Statement for additional information on this reporting
requirement.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity
and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.

Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301 and
405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under
Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92.